Hello friends,

This is a blog about Wisconsin teams and what happened this past weekend with the Badgers, Packers and Brewers. And hello to my friend and mentor the fishrmn. I hope this satisfies your craving for Wisconsin sports and a nice win for the Packers Sunday against the Lions.

Aaron Rodgers is playing well and passed for over 200 yards, but the Packers defense blew a 21 point lead before Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense rescued them again and came up big in a 48-25 win over the poor Detroit Lions football team Sunday. It will be much tougher this week as the Packers face the high powered Dallas Cowboys at Lambeau Field on Sunday Night Football. We'll see how good both of those teams are in a big early season matchup. As for that other great Packers ex quarterback Brett Favre he and the New York Jets didn't do as well losing to the New England Patriots 16-10 even without injured Tom Brady

Saturday night the Wisconsin Badgers went out to Fresno, California and beat Fresno State 13-10 in a game that non BCS school Fresno State was calling the biggest game in school history. Meanwhile a few hours away in Los Angeles the number one ranked USC Trojans pummeled another Big Ten school Ohio State 35-3. Going into the game Ohio State was ranked fifth in the country and Wisconsin was ranked 10th. After Wisconsin's win they climbed to 8th and Ohio State fell to 13th in the national rankings making Wisconsin the only Big Ten school currently in the top ten in the country.

Now I'm not an expert who knows all my X and O's about football but I have a few reasons why I like Wisconsin as a football team and would like to see them take on a few of the bigger boys in college football while Ohio State still a very good football team in the Big Ten an country is a little overrated as a national power. They proved that Saturday night  against USC and getting blown out in the last two national championship games. I'm also not talking about Ohio State being a power in the Big Ten. Yes they can beat Michigan and Wisconsin and others, but how did they get to the national championship game last year after losing in conference to Illinois. There is a flaw in the BCS system there without a playoff..

Now call me crazy but these are a few of the resons I like Wisconsin and think they would have given USC a better game even if they didn't beat them which they could if they had excellent execution and USC made a few mistakes or turnovers like they did when they lost to Stanford in the LA Colliseum last year.

The Wisconsin Badgers are a team that starting with former coach and now athletic director Barry Alvarez and current head coach Bret Bilema sp? have been a ball control running offense with short passes and a bend but dont break defense which tries to minimize a lot of yardage especially as a tem gets closer to the goal line in the red zone which is the 20 yard line to the goal line.

Now I know the Badgers don't have as much speed or talent as USC so they have to try to shorten the field and control the clock. Teams like Ohio State and Michigan have tried to play with USC in a high firepower offense and have gotten burned by teams with more explosive talent like USC. I think that is one of the reasons the slower and more methodical Big Ten teams have had trouble winning out of conference especially against national powers.

But a program like Wisconsin has found a way to make that slower game work to their advantage by contolling the clock with mostly the run and short passes and not turning the ballover a lot. The bend but don't break defense has kept them in a lot of games as well. Instead of playing and trying to match USC as a high powered football team which I think Ohio State, Michigan, Illinois  last year in the Rose Bowl and others have, I think Wisconsin by playing to their strengths while still outmatched in someways could have a better chance with a strength and finesse game to better comete with the USC's and other national powers.

There have been different players obviously but look at Wisconsin's postseason success the last 15 years or so under the Barry Alvarez program. Three Rose Bowls all wins, three victories over UCLA including twie in the Rose Bowl game which is UCLA's home stadium. Also victories over SEC teams Auburn and Arkansas and a victory over BIG 12 team Colorado among others. Plus Wisconsin and their fans travel very well with their support. They basically took over the Rose Bowl stadium at what was UCLA's home field. In the Rose Bowl the last 30 years or so, the rest of the Big Ten has a few victories by Michigan and Ohio State. one by Penn State and Michigan State and losses by Illinois, Iowa, Purdue and Northwestern. Minnesota and Indiana haven't been to the Rose Bowl for decades.

Now I'm not saying Wisconsin is going to win the national championship necessarily. But I do think they have a program that has shown that they can compete on a national level regularly. They are also currently the only Big Ten team ranked in the Top 10 after Ohio State's loss. I would just like to see them play a more difficult nonconference schedule with at leat one top power caliber opponent from the Pac10, SEC or Big 12 which no offense to the Eastern schools in the Big East and ACC which have some pretty good teams too, are probably the best BCS conferences along with the Big Ten. That way I think we can determine a litlle better where Wisconsin stands nationally along with what they have accomplished. so far. At least we could say they've played someone big nffense with respect to the great victory over Fresno State this year.

Anyway those are my thoughts as someone who has watched Wisconsin football and other college football as well. Although there is so much college football to digest that anyone with more experience could tell me otherwise. That is just my opinion from my little corner of the world watching a lot of Badgers and Big Ten Footballalthough I watch nationally as well to an extent and of course I want my opinions to be broader so let me know what you think ok friends.

Finally the Milwaukee Brewers have struggled lately in losing 11 of 14 games in September and are now currently tied with the Philadelphia Phillies having blown their lead in the wildcard temporarily. They have also fired their manager Ned Yost who led them this far to an 83-67 record to shake things up for this still young and inexperienced team who is trying to make the playoffs for the first time since 1982. We'll see what happens but ultimately the players play the game and new interim manager and former Brewers player Dale Sweum sp? will take some of the blame as the manager along with Brewers GM Doug Melvin. Good luck to the Brewers.

Take care and talk soon friends. Have a great and productive day and best wishes always. fenfan

.

Hello friends,

Well the biggest story of the last month and the NFL offseason, The Brett Favre saga just keeps going everday and it keeps giving everyone something interesting to talk about no matter how much we wish it would go away. But writers and bradcasters love it because it is so fascinating and no one knows how it will end from day to day.

I'll try to look at it from both sides  and give my perspective on it and I'll be interested to hear yours. As of the latest updates it appears that Brett Favre has reached a stalemate with the Green Bay Packers who no longer seem to want him in more than a backup role so it appears that Favre could be traded to either the Tampa Bay Buccaners or the New York Jets. The Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago  Bears, the Packers NFC North division rivals who Favre wished to play for look like they will not  be able to make a trade with the Packers as the Packers not surprisingly do not want to trade Brett Favre to a rival team in their division.

Ezcept for Packers fans and my apologies to them as they are the innocent bystanders in this whole Brett Favre saga, it really would have been interesting to see Brett Favre go to the rival Vikings or Chicago Bears and play against the Packers in the same division. I mean why if the Packers don't want a Hall of Fame quarterback who's still pretty good at 39 years old and led the Packers back to the NFC Championship Game before losing after an interception in overtime against the Giants.is a question to me.

And yes he did retire and "waffle" about coming back and playing as a lot of athletes do even when they say they're defintely hanging it up. But then after a few months or as the new season gets closer they get the itch to play and want to come back and yes  it's frustrating for teams, players, coaches and fans when players  like Favre constanly change their mind and the Packers is this case had to move on with incumbent backup Aaron Rodgers as the starter and they drafted quarterbacks Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn for competition.

But if Brett Favre a Hall of Fame quarterback to be who still has skills and desire,wants to come back why shouldn't he be welcomed with open arms and an "open competition". Now Aaron Rodgers may be a good pro quarterback in the future, he may be a good teammate and person and he may deserve a chance. But  in the NFL and sports it's about winning and WINNING NOW!!  And when a team like the Packers has the window of opportunity to WIN in a parity filled league with a salary cap where success doesn't last more han a few years at a time before players change and things need to be restructured.then why wouldn't the Packers go for it with a proven and winning quarterback like Brett Favre. He's been to and won a Super Bowl and won several playoff games and as I said he got them to the NFC Championship Game last year.

So why would the Packers rather go with a young quarterback like Aaron Rodgers who hasn't proven himself yet very much in the NFL to be the starter? Losing is always tough but if he doesn't win quickly and attain some of  Favre's status as a winner in Green Bay then he will probably be booed and heckled no matter how much of it is or isn't his fault because the Packers are losing and Brett Favre isn't there.

If he is a success he still probably won't live up to Brett Favre unles he wins multiple Super Bowls and there will always be the die hard Brett Favre fans Aaron Rodgers can't please no matter what.

Winning a championship and having success is a rare and brief time period in this world of salary caps and free agency. Sure there have been exceptions the last 10 years like the Patriots in the NFL,  but when a team has a chance to have success they have to go for it especially for the fans and communities that support them.

And sometimes sports  teams like the Boston Red Sox in baseball have to put up with the antics and actions of a Manny Ramirez, Curt Schilling or Pedro Martinez to win a few championships. The same with the eccentric Dennis Rodman on the  Chicago Bulls basketball  teams in the 1990s. Sometimes teams and fans have to put up with the bizarre but talented players to win.

Yes Brett Favre has a big ego as a lot of highly paid athletes do. But he wanted to play for the Packers, he came back and the organization wants to let him go or offer him a ridiculois 20 million dollar nonplaying offer to stay retired. How many of us would quit for that?!  My question to the Packers is are doing everything to keep the window of opportunity for success open as long as they can. Or are they letting pride and doing the right thing get in the way of what should be done. I wish Aaron Rodgers and the Packers success. They've got a good team and can win with a young inexperienced quarterback. My favorite Team the Pittsburgh Steelers won a Super Bowl with Ben Roethlisberger in his second season after leading the Steelers to the AFC Championship Game in his first year. As I said I hope for the Packer's fans sake that a young quarterback like Aaron Rodgers can have the same success.

Just remember there are teams like the Packers rival the Minnesota Vikings who havent won a Super Bowl or NFL Championship intheir 47 years of  existence and are hungry for success. A team like that might love to scoop up a  legend like Brett Favre and beat their rival team with a quarterback who beat their team so many times over the years. The same goes for the Bears. Now it looks like the Packers will trade Favre out of the division to the Buccaneers or Jets, but imagine if it happened and Brett Favre came back and beat the Packers as a member of the Vikings, Bears or any other NFL team.

Now Aaron Rodgers may become a superstar quarterback and the much older Brett Favre will soon fade off into the NFL sunset and his final retirement. But in the meantime we'll find out soon enough who's the better quaterback in the next few years and did the Packers give up on Brett  Favre and their chance to win a Super Bowl soon again. We'll see what happens friends. Take care and have a productive day. Talk soon and best wishes. fenfan 

Hello friends,

I've got nothing special to talk about tonight except for some pretty good blogs I've been reading on here and putting my two cents in. From the guy who explained why the Steelers won't be as good this year. I disagree with his opinion but the Steelers have always been consistent and rarely terrible. Consider since Chuck Noll's 1-13 record in 1969 the Steelers have never won fewer than 5 games in a season and they have won 5 Super Bowls. I hope I don't jinx them. I just hope they get their ownership situation figured out. A billionare Stanley Druckenmeier wants to buy the team but I hope they can keep the team in the Rooney family who founded the team and made the Steelers the proud team and organization that they are.

Also tundratrugger brought up some good comments on the Brett Favre situation with the Packers. We all like or admire Brett Favre as a football player and person. As football fans we just wish he would make up his mind about his future and go on with it. I couldn't personally go out on an interception in the NFC Championship Game if I knew I had a good team but that's his decision. Lets just make that decision Brett and get on with the 2008 NFL season.

In baseball I'm  excited to see one of my favorite small market teams the Milwaukee Brewers making some big noise in the pennant race again this year. The experience of last year's winning record has helped and so apparently has new acquistion CC Sabathia with a 4-0 record and 3 complete game wins since joining the Brewers. I don't want the Brewers to throw away their future and maybe by signing their core players like Ryan Braun, developing a great farm system under general manager Doug Melvin and getting good draft picks will help the small market Brewers stay competitive in the long run. But in the short term Go For It Brewers and good luck the rest of 2008 and we'll worry about 2009 later. When you think of it that should be every team's philosophy but for a small market team like the Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays it is crical to keep going and keep competive. I wish baseball had a salary cap like the other sports, but with smart management it can be done successfully.

Well I guess I did have some stuff to say tonight about some of my favorite teams. I also enjoyed blogs about the most hated teams in sports and the greatest players to never win a championship. Read those if you get the chance. I always enjoy a good blog and great sports talk and I thank you friends for reading mine. I'm almost to 150 blogs overall now and I hope I keep it interesting for you readers. Take care, best wishes and talk soon friends. Have a great and productive day always friends. fenfan

Hello friends Well it's July on the calender and a few weeks from training camp in the NFL. So why doesn't it surprise me that there are "rumors" again that Brett Favre is deciding to unretire?  Why is he doing this or do he and his people like to keep us talikng?!

I made the suggestion on my blog a few months ago that Brett Favre play out his contract for two more years until he's 40. He's never been seriously hurt or missed any games so why not play it out to the end especially since he's got a championship type team in Green Bay the next few years.

No disrespect to Aaron Rodgers but he hasn't earned our respect yet and Brett Favre is a Hall of Famer to be no matter what happens. So why not play it out to the end and see what happens.

Not everyone goes out a champion like John Elway, Jerome Bettis or Michael Strahan, but wouldn't you like to see Brett Favre put everything he has on the table and go out a champion one more time.

Or do you want to see him go out on an interception like he did last year when you knew he had a good team in Green Bay and could give just a little bit more?

None of us can claim to know what Brett Favre feels or thinks in his NFL career, but we can see he's been a warrior on the field and by retiring  a little too early he's not only cheating us but maybe himself and thinking maybe I could have led the Packers back to the Super Bowl and a championship.

If he fails and doesn't get hurt at least he tried. If not we'll all wonder what if? Either way please make your decision Brett and leave your career with honor and dignity. Either way you're a legend and Hall of Famer . Just let us know what your decision is.

All of us as football fans need to go on and so do you. Best wishes and have a great and productive day friends. fenfan

Hello friends,

Well the quarterbacks on the two teams I follow and root for most were in the news for different reasons. First Brett Favre's retirement. It will get a lot of emotions and reaction on this blogosphere and in the sports world in general. No matter how you feel about him and what you think of his career or how iy ended if it has ended for sure, you have to respect him and admire him as a legend. He has most of the passing records, he's won a Super Bowl and lost another one dramatically to John Elway and the Broncos and he led the Packers back to the brink of a Super Bowl with a tough loss in the NFC Championship last year where he threw an interception against the Giants which led to a game winning field goal and an apperance in the Super Bowl where the Giants ended up winning the championship.

We can all sit and debate whether or not Favre should have retired now and come up with a lot of reasons why he should come back or retire, but in the end that is Brett Favre and his family's decision. It is his body which he played every game the last 17 years almost more remarkable than Cal Ripken's streak in baseball, and it his his life to decide what he wants to do next with it. As football fans if he doesn't come back and he still might. Remember Michael Jordan was 99.9 % sure about retirement after leading the Bulls to their sixth championship in 1998  after making the final shot to win, but he returned with the Wizards a few years later so who knows. If not  Favre certainly has a date in Canton Ohio at the Pro Football Hall of Fame where he will likely be a first ballot Hall Of Famer in 2013. Good luck Brett. You will be missed by NFL Fans.

As for Ben Roethilisberger the Pittsburgh Steelers current quarterback who led them to a Super Bowl Championship two years ago, he just got his personal pay day in a contract extension of $102 million over eight years. The Steelers  are usually a very conservative organization and don't usually even pay their star players this kind of money so Ben and the Steelers will definitely have the football crazy Pittsburgh market on his and their back to do well and win. He'll have to do it without his best current offensive line blocker Alen Faneca who signed with the Jets, but Pittsburgh has always been good at replacing their key players in the system over the years and they keep winning so good luck to him and the Steelers and the future.

It's too bad these two great quarterbacks couldn't have met on the field in November 2005 when the Steelers beat the Packers 20-10 at Lambaeu Field. Roetlisberger was injured at the time and Charlie Batch quarterbacked for the Steelers that day.. The Packers and Favre were not at their best either going through a miserable 4-12 season so it's too bad we couldn't have seen a great matchup between a legend and a current up and coming quarterback. It's just kind of interesting to see these two stories come together at the same time.

Well I'll look forward to your comments. Best wishes friends and have a great and productive day.  fenfan

Hello friends,

Well it was a tough loss and ending to the season that fell one loss short of the Super Bowl for Brett Favre and the Packers. I know how they feel because the Steelers lost four times at home in the AFC Championship Game and once in the Super Bowl in the last 15 years before finally winning it all in 2005.

So my advice to teams like the Packers and Cowboys and other teams who fell short is don't despair, keep trying, re tool a lttle bit this is the salary cap era after all and keep it going, because we never know what's ahead

Still losing after having a 13-3 record and a home game in the NFC Championship game is tough. It's a long 6-7 months to training camp and a whole another season and playoffs to get back to the point they were this last weekend one win away from the Super Bowl.

But the Packers, Cowboys and others have good teams. It just takes good special and lucky teams to get to this point and beyond. Congratulations to the New England Patriots and New York Giants on their Super Bowl appearance this year and we'll see if the Patriots can acheive the perfect season.

Anyway I hope Brett Favre will come back again. I think he will. The good times have returned to Green Bay and while that's no guarantee for future success, they have a better chance for a few years again so Favre and the Packers better take advantage of it before it's too late. My advice to Brett Favre, not that he'll listen to me is to play one or two more years if he's healthy and has the desire. That would make him 40 years old in 2009, give him a couple more shots at the Super Bowl and no regrets in the end no matter what happens.

As for the interception in overtime of the loss to the Giants last Sunday, he shouldn't be totally judged on that. It was a mistake, but he was trying to drve the Packers for the win, much like his playoff inteception against the Eagles in 2003. Maybe Favre can try to be more careful in his passes, but that would somewhat take away from his gunslinger mentality that has given him much success and never keeps him out o####ame winning drive until it's over. Needless but important  to say no matter what Brett Favre's retirement decision he's a first ballot Hall Of Famer whenever that is.

As I said we'll see what happens and only Brett and his family know his future plans, nut one or two more years with this Packers team is what he should do. As for the future, keep developing Aaron Rodgers and look at other free agent or college options as well.

In closing it was a great season for Brett Favre the Packers and other NFL teams and fans as well. That's why it's so tough when the end of January or in this case Febuary comes and when the Super Bowl is now played, because we have to wait 6-8 months until the new season starts again. But we always survive that. Football is the longest and toughest offseason, but we always have NFL news, the draft in April and in the last few years the NFL Network to keep us busy and football entertained. So have a great offseason fans and enjoy the Super Bowl friends and we'll talk soon again. Best wishes and have a great and productive day.  fenfan

Hello friends,

I am writing this blog especially for my friends and family who live in Wisconsin and who are Packers fans especially to my good buddy fishrmn who's been a blogger, contributor and the person responsible for me becoming a blogger here. Thank you fishrmn and I know you're a huge Packers fan so this one's for you and all the other cheeseheads out there.

I grew up in Wisconsin and was born in 1967 right during the last season of the Packers dynasty of 5 titles including the first two Super Bowls under the legendary Packers coach Vince Lombardi which that season won an unmatched in NFL History, third title no other team has won more than two in a row. That was also the year of the famous New Years Eve Ice Bowl Game vs the Dallas Cowboys when the temperature dipped to -15 below zero!!!

Everyone remembers Vince Lombardi's last three wins that year in the playoffs against the LA Rams, the Ice Bowl win over the Cowboys for the NFL Championship and the win over the AFL Oakland Raiders 33-14 in Super Bowl 2.  Every football fan remembers that and then Vince Lombardi retired for a year before coaching the Washington Redskins in 1969 and dying of cancer in 1970.

But did you know who Vince Lombardi's last loss as Packers coach was to and that's where my story begins. The Pittsburgh Steelers, a bad team before Chuck Noll became coach of the legendary Steelers dynasty in 1969, went to Green Bay on December 17, 1967 just two weeks before the famous Ice Bowl game and upset the Packers 24-17. If anyone has an accounting of this game I'd love to see it because I have been a Steelers fan for over 30 years.

Anyway we all know about the Steelers dynasty of the 1970s and the success that the team has had for the most part until this day. My  grandparents lived and worked in Pittsburgh in the 1960s and 1970s for the most part so that's how I became a Steelers fan and they were very good of course with 4 Super Bowl titles in 6 years.

The Packers on the other hand were not good. For 25 years from 1968-1992 they had two playoff apperances a playoff loss to the Redskins in 1972 and a 1-1 playoff record in a strike shortened 1982 season, a win over the St.  Louis Cardinals and a loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Other than that the Packers had a lot of bad teams, a few good ones here and there like the Lynn Dickey, James Lofton John Jefferson years but even that couldn't keep former Packer quarterback and coach Bart Starr and later Forrest Gregg also from the 1960s glory days among others who were Packer coaches and players in this era and failed

It got bad and embarrasing to play in Green Bay until the early 1990s and it wasn't fun to watch them lose so my interest was pretty much lost in the Packers. Then coach Mike Holmgren came, a trade for an unknown quarterback from the Atlanta Falcons named Brett Favre and free agent defensive lineman Reggie White came  over  to Green Bay from the Philadelphia Eagles and within the next few seasons the Packers were suddenly winners again and eventually champions after the 1996 season culminating with a Super Bowl 31 win over the New England Patriots 35-21.

Green Bay and Wisconsin were estatic as they should have been and I celebrated too although it was somewhat harder for me since I was more of a Steelers fan who was living in Wisconsin. Thank goodness they didn't beat the Steelers in the Super Bowl or I would have never heard the end of it. The next year the Packers went back to the Super Bowl and got upset by John Elway  and the Denver Broncos 31-24.  This time I was somewhat glad not  only because the long suffering Broncos and John Elway had won but also because the Packers had lost and the hysteria had died down again. The next year when the Packers got beat by  the San Fransisco 49ers on Terrell Owens last second catch I felt bad for the Packers again. This was a part of the up and down rooting interest I had in the team because of the way they won but also had a lot of losses in this long 30 year period of time.

Well in the next few years I moved to Texas with my family away from Packers country and I began to see and hear the team a little differently because I didn't hear the local Packers coverage as much and while Cowboys and Texas fans are spirited and loyal it just isn't the same as living in smaller town areas like Green Bay and Pittsburgh.

In 2004 I got to go see the newly remodled Lambeau  Field and Packer Hall of Fame. I had been to Lambeau Field once years earlier for a game and win against their rival Chicago Bears, but it was special to go back and see the Packers history in person. Then of course my Pittsburgh Steelers won their 5th Super Bowl in 2005 after 26 years after their last Super Bowl win. Now that ties for the most Super Bowl wins with Dallas and San Fransisco who also have 5 Super Bowls but what people often forget is the Packers have the most NFL Championships in league history with 12 because they foget about pre Super Bowl NFL history.

Well the Packers and Brett Favre are back in the NFC Championship game against the New York Gianys under current head coach Mike McCarthey. I hope they do well and I'll be rooting for them unless of course they ever play  the Steelers for the Super Bowl. Still I've come a long way rooting for both teams and I thought I'd share my story with you today. Best wishes and have a great and productive day friends and we'll talk soon again. Sincerely,  fenfan

Hello friends,

Well I wanted to come back and talk to you after last nights Packers Cowboys game and before this weekend's Missouri Oklahoma Big 12 championship game and other college and pro action as well.

The Packers Cowboys game was a good one 37-27 Cowboys where I think the Cowboys established themselves as the better team in the NFC for now although Brett Favre got hurt and Charles Woodson was hurt as well for the Packers at cornerback. The Packers played competitively and Aaron Rodgers gave the Packers fans some hope for the current and the future by playing pretty well when Favre got hurt but we'll see how that turns out as we go down the stretch towards the playoffs. The pass interefence call in the fourth quater definetly hurt the Packers and I think it was somwhat unintentional contact although it looked like the Packer player did push the Cowboys receiver somewhat and that probably is what the refereee saw. It reminded me and some old time Cowboys fans I'm sure of Super Bowl 13 in 1979, and the famous incidental contact inteference call between Benny Barnes of the Cowboys and Lynn Swann of the Steelers.

Anyway the Packers ran into a better team in the Cowboys. Brett Favre tried to throw a couple of unadvised passes before he got hurt and then he got hurt and now they have 10 days until the Packers next game to see if he can continue his consecutive game streak and help the Packers towards their playoff chances. It was encouaging to see Aaron Rodgers play well in Favre's absence but give Cowboys quaterback Tony Romo, receiver Terell Owens and the rest of the Cowboys a lot of credit in their performance beating the Packers last night.

As for this weekend Missouri is in for a tough Big 12 championship game against Oklahoma who beat them 41-31 earlier this year but if Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel and Missouri play well and cut down their turnovers then they have a good chance of going on to the national championship game against West Virginia who should beat Pittsburgh at home this weekend. If not look for Ohio State to go if Oklahoma beats Missouri or whatever happens in the crazy world of college football.

As for everything else in college and the pro's we'll see what happens as always. As for now I like the Patriots in the AFC and NFL although I think they will lose, just not sure who to. The Steelers, Colts and Jaguars are chasing them. In the NFC it's probably between the Cowboys and Packers, but teams like Tampa ay and maybe Minnesota, Chicago, the Giants and the Redskins or the Saints might have a chance as well.

Finally a word about the senseless and tragic passing of Redskins 24 year old safety Sean Taylor who was gunned down in his Miami home as he was sleeping with his girlfriend and daughter in the middle of the night. How terrible no matter what the circumstances surrounding it for someone to break into someone's home unannounced and horrifically pull a gun on the man and kill him especially when his family was around as well. I said we don't know all the circumstances or what happened but it is a tragic and sad statement when a person is gunned down in their own home while sleeping but that is sometimes unforunately the reality of the world but we all need to watch out for ourselves and others to make sure terrible incidents like these don't happen often again although unfortunately they probably will in the world we live in today. So look out for and love each other, stay safe and god bless Sesn Taylor's family. I will talk to you soon friends,  and have a great and productive day and happy holidays to all of you. Best wishes. fenfan 

Hello friends,

In this post I want to talk mainly about the latest in the NFL and a few other things that are happening in sports lately. So what was the biggest moment in the NFL last weekend. Was it Adrian Peterson running wild in only his eighth NFL game setting a new single game rushing record with 296 yards and his second 200 yard rushing game overall. Was it the Colts Patriots on Sunday afternoon which turned out to be a pretty good game 24-20 Patriots but not the shootout everyone expected in Super Bowl 41-1/2. Or how about Big Ben Rothlisberger and the Steelers throwing 5 touchdown passes in the first half against the Ravens in a 38-7 win in the rain on Monday night in front of all the Steeler Super Bowl legends who were being honored. Nice throwback jerseys as well Steelers. And oh yeah to my buddy fishrmn congatulations to Brett Favre and the Packers on their 7-1 start but you'll still need a running game as the cold weather starts and the playoffs come later on.

Anyway I'm looking forward to the start of the second half of the NFL season this Sunday when Adrian Peterson and the Vikings visit the cold Lambeau Field and the Packers in Adrian Peterson's first great cold weather outdoor test. Remember back in the 1990's the great Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders rushed for only minus one yard against a great Packers defense in the playoffs so I'll be interested to see how Adrian Peterson does this weekend and beyond as we push towards playoff time in the NFL. The Steelers have a divisional game in the AFC North against the up and coming Browns who are only currently a game behind the Steelers, but they're still a young team and I like the Steelers this weekend as they make their push towards a division title and the playoffs after that. I think they can play with the Patriots and Cots and they have a matchup with the Patriots on December 9th. However I've learned that regular season wins don't always mean a great deal if teams meet in the playoffs again and sometimes the regular season winner will lose the playoff game so I don't know how excited you can get about the regular season wins. Just play as well as you can get in the playoffs and go from there. Even if a team has to play on the road in the playoffs they can win sometimes if they're the better team or have they have the momentum. We'll see and hopefully they'll be some good playoff rematches this year.

Another matchup I'm looking forward to in the NFC later this month of November is the Packers at the Cowboys on Thursday November 29. It's on NFL Network so it will be harder to find without satellite besides local areas but it will be quaterback Tony Romo of the Cowboys who's from Wisconsin against his boyhood idol Brett Favre who's never won in Dallas and it will be interesting to see how this game comes out and if they meet in the playoffs as well. Finally will the Patriots go 16-0 or 19-0. I don't know but I think it will be hard for a few reasons. Teams occasionaly slip up although that doesn't appear to be the Patriots problem, coaches sit players but Bill Belichick will play everyone even in a 52-7 win like the had against the Redskins a few weeks ago. So what will happen. They''ll probably trip up against some inspired team when they're coasting or trying to get ready for the playoffs. And if they do get in the playoffs I wouldn't want to be the team that wins all their regular season games, but loses in the playoffs so we'll see friends and enjoy the rest of the season and best of luck to your teams.

Finally one last comment outside the NFL. In college basketball last night there was an upset as Gardner Webb beat Kentucky in an early season non conference game just like Appalachian State did to Michigan in footballl. Ironically both are from North Carolina. But as big an upset as these both are it doesn't surprise me as much as it used to because of the increasing parity in college sports. Even George Mason in the Final Four a few years ago didn't seem as big as it would have 20-30 years ago because athletes don't stay in college as long and they go to the smaller schools more often when they're turned down by the big ones.

Well I look forward to your comments friends and we'll talk soon again. Have a great and productive day and best wishes always friends. Your pal. fenfan

Hello sports friends,

Well yesterday was March 1 and in the NFL that means the start of free agency when teams can gain and lose players or decide to resign them based on their salary cap situation which is a fact of life in todays NFL where there is more parity but also more roster turnover where teams don't stay together for a long period of time in general like they used to. However most teams try to keep their best players if they can within the salary cap.

Anyways yesterday the Steelers my favorite team released linebacker Joey Porter because of salary cap reasons they say he was supposed to get a bonus in the final year of his contract and they didn't want to renegotiate or sign an extension. Now I am really disappointed in this because Joey Porter has been one of the Steelers best players both on and off the field the last decade. He has been the emotional leader with big hits on the field and emotion good and bad off the field He stood up to Seahawks player Jeremy Stevens taunts against the Steelers before the Super Bowl, he led pre and post game team dances in the locker room and he was a great hard hitter who also incidentally unfortunately got shot as an innocent bystander in Colorado a few years ago and came back. which shows a lot of heart.  Now he also has a big mouth which got him in trouble like the pregame fight with the rival Cleveland  Browns during a pregame a few years ago which got him kicked out o####ame, but his emotion was always for the team and former coach Bill Cowher and that will definitely be missed. He was this Steeler teams Jack Lambert and Ham from the 70s and Greg Lloyd from the 90s. A great player with heart whoI think should have been one of the special Steelers to retire a Steeler and I am very disappointed. Hopefully the Steelers and their new coach Mike Tomlin know what they're doing and they usually do as an organization. Great players come and go I understand that but this is one I really wish hadn't gone and they might pay for the loss of Joey Porter because of the kind of player he is on and off the field.

Also shortly I want to mention a few other things quickly. It was nice to see Lovie Smith get his well deserved extension and raise in Chicago as their head coach. Despite the Super Bowl loss the Bears could be headed for great things if they can figure out if Rex Grossman is their long term quarterback or not. Meanwhile north of Chicago in small town Green Bay they are thinking of bringing fomer Vikings and Raiders wide receiver Randy Moss to the Packers which would be like bringing the next notch of Terrell Owens to Green Bay. A great talent especially from his years with the Vikings but a lot of attitude and he once mooned the Packer fans in a playoff game. But Brett Favre says he would like to play with a player like Moss and I'm wondering what my friends in Packer country think. I know you're out there reading. Anyways take care friiends, best wishes and have great and productive days always.

Hi Sports Friends,

I don't know where I'm going with that title except that Peyton Manning seems like a superhero along with Coach Tony Dungy in leading the Colts to their first Super Bowl since 1970 when the team played in Baltimore.. And did you see Don Shula smiling as he went to present the Colts with the Super Bowl trophy. Now I know he's mostly remembered as the Dolphins coach who went 17-0 in 1972 and led his team to two Super Bowl victories in Miami. But he also had four Super Bowl losses one of which was in Miami in Super Bowl 3  to the Jets and Joe Namath when he was the head coach of the Colts. Who knows maybe he was being professional but maybe a small part of him was smiling because he could finally  present the Colts with the trophy that he didn't get in that Super Bowl when the Colts lost as heavy favorites to the New York Jets.

Anyways about this Super Bowl game I rooted for the Bears and thought they had a chance when Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff 92 yards and Mussin Muhammed scored a touchdown to give the Bears a 14-6 lead. But from there the rain poured, Rex Grossman couldn't carry the Bears and Peyton Manning/Indiana Jones I think thats a cool parallel and the Colts defense carried them the rest of the way.

Now I picked the Bears in this game and believed they could win, but I knew they almost had to play perfectly or close to it or Peyton Manning and the Colts defense would pick them apart as they did 29-17. So congratulations to the Colts and to Tony Dungy for all the historical reasons. Mostly though he's a great coach and it was nice to see him and the Colts succeed after Tony Dungy's son James death to suicide a year ago and the Colts and Peyton Manning who have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Who knows maybe a few old Colts fans in Baltimore smiled too but probably not too many after the way the left Baltimore in 1984. Anyways it was a nice victory for the Colts franchise and now only 7 months until opening weekend in the NFL in September. And we'll see Brett Favre again in Green Bay for a 17th year. Who will be playing in Glendale Arizona in Super Bowl 42? We'll find out that answer next year. Congratulations Colts fans and talk to you soon. Best wishes and have a great and productive day friends.

Hello Sports Friends,

I thought I'd try a blog on here today where I talk about the state of my favorite teams. I saw another blogger on here do this. I think he was from the Boston area. Anyways in this past month we've had the State of the Union, the NFL has the State of the NFL with the commisioner at the Super Bowl this week so this is the state of my teams, we'll do it with the pro leagues in this post and see where it goes.

Anyways my number one favorite pro team in sports is the Pittsburgh Steelers who are defending champions for a few more days. They had a rough season being Super Bowl champs, Ben Roethisberger's on and off field injuries, Bill Cowher leaving as coach and now hiring only their third coach in the last 38 years Mike Tomlin. Still as tough a year as it was they rebounded from a 2-6 start to finish 8-8 and I'm proud of them for that.

Number two would be the Boston Red Sox. After winning the World Seies championship in 2004 they have had some injuries and roster changes and of course always have to deal with the Yankees in the AL East. Still they have David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Jason Varitek and Curt Schilling from that team along with a core of good or young players and if they can find a way to get a closer or Jonathon Papelbon, then I think they'll be ok and contend in the AL East again. Matsusaka is also an X factor that we have to find out about.

Number three is the San Antonio Spurs. I'm not the biggest basketball  fan anymore but I like this team and their rivalry with the Dallas Mavericks. With Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli and the rest of the team they have won three NBA championships and still have a good veteran core that can contend although it's a lot tougher in the West with teams like Dallas, Phoenix and the two LA teams the Lakers and Clippers to deal with. Still if they stay healthy and play well in the playoffs they have as good a chance as any so we'll see.

Number four I'll pick the Dallas Stars, my local area team and the team in my second favorite sport after football,  hockey. I got to go to a Stars game a few years ago, I like following them as the local team and they have had a good contending team, changing every year of course but still in the mix every year since winning the Stanley Cup in 1999. Mike Modano is still there and they have a good mix of veterans and youngsters when their healthy. The only problem has been their lack of recent playoff success, but if goalie Marty Turco could turn it around and the team could stay healthy and play well then they could go a long way. We'll see wehat happens down the stretch and in the playoffs.

To round out my top five of teams I'll pick a team I like unconditionally the Milwaukee Brewers. I realize it is tough for them being a small market team in baseball withough any kind of salary cap which the players refuse so I root for them whether they're good or bad because they're my original hometown team from childhood, they play hard and I have memories of the 1982 World Series which they could have won if  relief pitcher Rollie Fingers among othyer things   had not been injured and I just like going out to the ballpark in the summer soI'll include them..

Anyways that's my top five teams in pro sports. Shortly my second five include the Chicago Cubs, Toronto Maple Leafs, Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Vikings who all can never seem to win the big one in a long team. Other teams I like are NFC North rivals the Chicago Bears who I'm rooting for in the Super Bowl, the Green Bay Packers who are my original home state team and who I take a lot of good natured grief from family and friends who want them to be my favorite team, sorry , but I still like and respect their team especially when they win. Other teams I like are the Canadian hockey teams because that is where the core of hockey fans is and finally the Texas Trio of the Rangers, Astros and Mavericks who have a good chance to win an NBA championship this year. We'll see. Well I hope you have enjoyed looking at my sports teams this week. We'll watch the Super Bowl and see what happens and we'll talk soon. I'm also excited to see how Wisconsin men's basketball does as they push for a possible #1 ranking and the NCAA tournament in March.Anyways have a great and productive day friends and we'll talk soon. Best wishes always. Fenfan67

Hello Sports Friends,

Well I'm wishing for one more present in my stocking as an NFL fan and I hope it will be delivered by the man disguised as Santa Claus in Green Bay that is #4 Brett Favre. Love him or not love him and there have been several fans who have felt both ways about Favre, you have to respect him and you have to admire him as an NFL football fan. I mean honestly can you imagine what Green Bay is going to look like at quarterback after #4 wiith his 250-270 straight starts I can't remember the exact total including playoffs retires. Aaron Rodgers?? Even before his broken foot which Brett Favre might have played through, we didn't see the answer at backup quarterback in Green Bay. Back up quarterback in Green Bay?! They rarely play so I never really knew they had one since #4 always plays through the pain no matter what no matter how effective he is.

Favre can be brilliant of course having been to two Super Bowls and won one. He has had several playoff apperances and last minute touchdown drives. But he can also throw 30 interceptions and that's why he'll pass Dan Marino for the most touchdowns and interceptions as well. Like Marino the Hall of Famer, Favre the Hall of Famer to be has had weapons/players to play with, but he has also been a gunslinger and Lone Ranger who tries to do much sometimes. That is where the costly interceptions and other mistakes have come in.

Still Brett Favre is exciting to watch no matter who you like and he has grown on me like Larry Bird and Martina Navratilova among others who I didn't like because they often beat the teams and players that I liked, but when their careers got older I began to admire and even like them somewhat because of their great talents and we fans and players alike would like to be just like them because they are winners. Think Michael Jordan, Joe Montana and Wayne Gretzky along those same lines as well.

Anyways I hope Brett Favre comes back and I think he will because like Roger Clemens in baseball he still loves to play and can't get it out of his system. It's funny we always want our athletes to go out on top when they still have it and we dont wan't them to be like Muhamad Ali, Johnny Unitas, Willie Mays or Steve Carlton among other athletes who went a little too long in their careers. But unless they retire early like Barry Sanders and Jim Brown and you always wonder what could have still been. Or go out on top like John Elway and Jerome Bettis with Super Bowl titles after great careers. But besides those abberations of good fortune to retire at exactly the right we'll never know when exactly these great athletes like Brett Favre should be done. So let them play it out till it's over. For example we thought Michael Jordan had the perfect ending to his legendary NBA career aftewr hitting the game winning jumber to win the sixth NBA championship for the Chicago Bulls against the Utah Jazz in the 1998 finals. But a couple years later much to our perfect ending fan's chagrin he came back and played until he had that little bit of gas we didn't know he had left in the tank. I think Brett Favre, Roger Clemens and others for that manner should get the same opportunity and then we can all say that he gave us everything he possibly had even if it's a little too much and not good enough at the end. Remember baseball pitcher Nolan Ryan gave us 27 years in his sport.. So Brett Favre my best advice like all the people I have mentioned is to play it out to the end and then we'll talk about your great Hall of Fame to be career afterward. You'll be satisfied, we'll be satistfied and we won't judge you even if your play is more poor at the end. Age does that to all of us but wisdom keeps us around longer and Brett Favre has definitely had a lot of that on the football field so I hope he comes back for as long as he wants. I could say that about the 80 year old Penn State football coach as well. So play as long as you want because life is too short in the end and you wan't to get everything out of it you can. Sitting back and relaxing doesn't always do it. Sometimes it makes us more tired and lethargic. So enjoy your great and productive days, have a Merry Christmas and talk soon friends.

P.S. This is dedicated to my special Packers fan friend who helped get me started in blogging and wanted me to write something about the Green Bay Packers. Well this is my Christmas present to you and all of the NFL fans like me who enjoy football and great players like #4 Brett Favre no matter who our favorite players and teams are. Sometimes as sports fans we just enjoy certain players and teams because they make the viewing of the sport better and I think Brett Favre is one of the special players who does that so that's why I decided to write about him. I wish him and everyone else good luck with their future as long as they use it in a productive and good manner. Have a great day friends!